British Council. 2010. "Kazakhstan." Accessed October 30. http://www.britishcouncil.org/kazakhstan.htm.
The British Council is the British equivalent of the American Peace Corps. Their website provides news about their ESL efforts in Kazakhstan, offers a variety of online resources, and also provides an ELT teachers' network with over 14,000 people participating all over the world. They connect these teachers by providing regional email newslists (i.e. listservs) and newsletters.
Johnson, Cory W. 2003. "English Language Teaching and Cultural Considerations in the 'Frontier Regions' of TEFL: The Context of Kazakhstan." MA thesis, Eastern Washington University.
This thesis provides an analysis of teaching english as a second language in Kazakhstan. It's only available at the library at Eastern Washington University, but it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan in WorldCat.
Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP). 2010. "Teaching English in Kazakhstan Newsletter." Accessed October 30. http://www.kimep.kz/programs/grad/tesol/newsletter.
KIMEP is a Kazakh university that offers an MA in TESOL. This bimonthly newsletter often highlights ESL events and workshops around Almaty.
Peace Corps. 2010. "Peace Corps Journals." Accessed October 30. http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/?Country&country_id=39&full_page=1.
This website compiles blogs of Peace Corps volunteers and organizes them by country. The link above will take you to all the ones by people stationed in Kazakhstan. Not everyone is there teaching ESL, but some are doing that work. "Kazakh-Attack," for example, is written by someone in Almaty who just started her two-year tour teaching ESL. See the Technology section for more...
Smith, R. 2005. "Teaching English Phonology in the Country of Kazakhstan: A Preliminary Evaluation." Journal of Kazakh-American Free University 2:3-6. Accessed Oct. 30. http://www.vestnik-kafu.info/journal/2/39/
This article discusses the challenges of teaching English pronunciation in Kazakhstan. It examines the phonology of both Russian and Kazakh to understand the common difficulties, and it suggests certain approaches and techniques to teaching English phonology.
Kazakh Adoptive Families. 2009. "Books, Language Courses, and Other Language Sources." Last modified November 22. http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/language.html.
This is a fantastic bibliography that has a list of many different sources for learning Kazakh with some testimonials. Unfortunately, most are not available through USMAI or BCPL. Most of these sources would either need to be purchased (some are quite expensive) or requested through WorldCat (if available). (Please beware that it's a year old, and many of the links are broken). Of particular note here is a brief mention that the Kazakh-American Association offers Kazakh language classes. While I have been unable to verify this information, the author indicates that the association is based in Potomac, MD and provides an email address to contact them about it.
Kazakh Adoptive Families. 2009. "Kazakh Words and Phrases." Last modified July 22. http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/language2.html.
This is another site, which is very useful because it contains many Kazakh words and phrases that are phonetically spelled. Even though, you can read/write Russian (and therefore know something about the Cyrillic alphabet), I still thought it might be useful to have something to sound out the pronunciation. And if you can pair this with other sites that just have the Cyrillic spelling, then it might be very useful.
Peace Corps. 1995. Kazakh Language Course for Peace Corps Volunteers in Kazakhstan. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Peace Corps. http://www.highlandsun.com/hyc/Kazakh/d3/.
This is a fantastic resource for learning the Kazakh language. It teaches you the letters, pronunciation, and commonly-used phrases.
British vs. American English
Algeo, John. 2006. British or American English?: A Handbook of Word and Grammar Patterns. New York: Cambridge University Press.
This is the most recent major scholarly work that really dives deep into the differences between the two dialects. Unfortunately, the USMAI network doesn't have it, but it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan by using WorldCat. On the other hand, if you want something quicker, there is a 1982 book by Nancy Salama and Mary Ghali called American and British English Preferences: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Prepositions, and Vocabulary that is available on Google Books.
BBC. 2010. "BBC Learning English: For Teachers." Accessed November 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teach/.
This website provides resources for teachers to use in the classroom. It's primarily focused on teaching English in the traditional sense, but it's still got some fun resources (which obviously will be in British English). The video section has some amusing clips on idioms, and a few seem to be British idioms.
Davies, Christopher. 2005. Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
While primarily intended for travelers to the UK, it does act as a resource that explains the differences in terms and phrasings (not grammar). It's available through the USMAI Interlibrary Loan (UMD has a copy), or the Baltimore County Public Library has a few copies.
Duckworth, Ted. 2010. "Dictionary of English Slang and Colloquialisms." Accessed October 30. http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm.
The "Urban Dictionary" for British slang. It's online, so it can be accessed from anywhere, and it's extremely comprehensive.
Murphy, M. Lynne (as Lynneguist). 2010. Separated by a Common Language. Last Modified October 30. http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/.
This blog is written by an American linguist living in the UK about her observations on the differences between British and American English. It's both scholarly and amusing, and it has been ranked among the best language blogs around.
Maxwell, Kerry and Lindsay Clandfield. 2010. "Differences in American and British English Grammar." Accessed October 30. http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?docid=152820.
This article is similar to Aniston's blog post, but it does provide a brief section on "Implications for Teaching."
Salama, Nancy. 1988. "British and American English in the Classroom in Cairo and in Kuwait." TESL Reporter 21(1): 9-18. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/TESL&CISOPTR=964&REC=9&CISOSHOW=955.
This article discusses the difficulties ESL teachers face due to the two major varieties of English. It's not so context-specific as the title suggests; rather, it gives some general principles to think about. It also contains a list of differences in the languages that came up in the classroom during the author's stint in Egypt and Kuwait.
Teaching in Kazakhstan
Connect with ESL Teachers | Learn Kazakh | British vs. American English
Learn from and connect with other ESL teachers
The British Council is the British equivalent of the American Peace Corps. Their website provides news about their ESL efforts in Kazakhstan, offers a variety of online resources, and also provides an ELT teachers' network with over 14,000 people participating all over the world. They connect these teachers by providing regional email newslists (i.e. listservs) and newsletters.
Johnson, Cory W. 2003. "English Language Teaching and Cultural Considerations in the 'Frontier Regions' of TEFL: The Context of Kazakhstan." MA thesis, Eastern Washington University.
This thesis provides an analysis of teaching english as a second language in Kazakhstan. It's only available at the library at Eastern Washington University, but it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan in WorldCat.
Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics and Strategic Research (KIMEP). 2010. "Teaching English in Kazakhstan Newsletter." Accessed October 30. http://www.kimep.kz/programs/grad/tesol/newsletter.
KIMEP is a Kazakh university that offers an MA in TESOL. This bimonthly newsletter often highlights ESL events and workshops around Almaty.
Peace Corps. 2010. "Peace Corps Journals." Accessed October 30. http://www.peacecorpsjournals.com/?Country&country_id=39&full_page=1.
This website compiles blogs of Peace Corps volunteers and organizes them by country. The link above will take you to all the ones by people stationed in Kazakhstan. Not everyone is there teaching ESL, but some are doing that work. "Kazakh-Attack," for example, is written by someone in Almaty who just started her two-year tour teaching ESL. See the Technology section for more...
Smith, R. 2005. "Teaching English Phonology in the Country of Kazakhstan: A Preliminary Evaluation." Journal of Kazakh-American Free University 2:3-6. Accessed Oct. 30. http://www.vestnik-kafu.info/journal/2/39/
This article discusses the challenges of teaching English pronunciation in Kazakhstan. It examines the phonology of both Russian and Kazakh to understand the common difficulties, and it suggests certain approaches and techniques to teaching English phonology.
Learn Kazakh
Committee on Languages of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Kazakhstan. 2010. "Kazakh-Russian-English Online Dictionary." Accessed November 2. http://til.gov.kz/wps/portal/%21ut/p/c1/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os3hTA3cDA3fLYCNDd38jA6MwR6MAUw8vQwNLE6B8pFm8n79RqJuJp6GhhZmroYGRmYeJk0-Yp4G7izEB3eEg-_DrB8kb4ACOBvp-Hvm5qfrBqXn6BbkRBlkmjooArMN5Qg%21%21/dl2/d1/L2dJQSEvUUt3QS9ZQnB3LzZfNTBHMDBHOVMySDU0RTAyVklUTFQxTDMwNDU%21/.
This online dictionary is provided by the Kazakh government and even features a keypad with Cyrillic characters. It gives you a variety of ways to search, either by Russian, Kazakh, or English.
This is a fantastic bibliography that has a list of many different sources for learning Kazakh with some testimonials. Unfortunately, most are not available through USMAI or BCPL. Most of these sources would either need to be purchased (some are quite expensive) or requested through WorldCat (if available). (Please beware that it's a year old, and many of the links are broken). Of particular note here is a brief mention that the Kazakh-American Association offers Kazakh language classes. While I have been unable to verify this information, the author indicates that the association is based in Potomac, MD and provides an email address to contact them about it.
Kazakh Adoptive Families. 2009. "Kazakh Words and Phrases." Last modified July 22. http://kazakhadoptivefamilies.com/language2.html.
This is another site, which is very useful because it contains many Kazakh words and phrases that are phonetically spelled. Even though, you can read/write Russian (and therefore know something about the Cyrillic alphabet), I still thought it might be useful to have something to sound out the pronunciation. And if you can pair this with other sites that just have the Cyrillic spelling, then it might be very useful.
Peace Corps. 1995. Kazakh Language Course for Peace Corps Volunteers in Kazakhstan. Almaty, Kazakhstan: Peace Corps. http://www.highlandsun.com/hyc/Kazakh/d3/.
This is a fantastic resource for learning the Kazakh language. It teaches you the letters, pronunciation, and commonly-used phrases.
British vs. American English
This is the most recent major scholarly work that really dives deep into the differences between the two dialects. Unfortunately, the USMAI network doesn't have it, but it can be requested through Interlibrary Loan by using WorldCat. On the other hand, if you want something quicker, there is a 1982 book by Nancy Salama and Mary Ghali called American and British English Preferences: Spelling, Grammar, Punctuation, Prepositions, and Vocabulary that is available on Google Books.
Aniston, Jeffary. 2009. "American and British English: Differences in Grammar." My Teaching English blog, July 27. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/janiston/american-british-english-differences-grammar.
This blog post provides a quick summary of some of the grammatical differences between British and American English.
BBC. 2010. "BBC Learning English: For Teachers." Accessed November 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/teach/.
This website provides resources for teachers to use in the classroom. It's primarily focused on teaching English in the traditional sense, but it's still got some fun resources (which obviously will be in British English). The video section has some amusing clips on idioms, and a few seem to be British idioms.
Davies, Christopher. 2005. Divided by a Common Language: A Guide to British and American English. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
While primarily intended for travelers to the UK, it does act as a resource that explains the differences in terms and phrasings (not grammar). It's available through the USMAI Interlibrary Loan (UMD has a copy), or the Baltimore County Public Library has a few copies.
Duckworth, Ted. 2010. "Dictionary of English Slang and Colloquialisms." Accessed October 30. http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/index.htm.
The "Urban Dictionary" for British slang. It's online, so it can be accessed from anywhere, and it's extremely comprehensive.
Murphy, M. Lynne (as Lynneguist). 2010. Separated by a Common Language. Last Modified October 30. http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/.
This blog is written by an American linguist living in the UK about her observations on the differences between British and American English. It's both scholarly and amusing, and it has been ranked among the best language blogs around.
Maxwell, Kerry and Lindsay Clandfield. 2010. "Differences in American and British English Grammar." Accessed October 30. http://www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?docid=152820.
This article is similar to Aniston's blog post, but it does provide a brief section on "Implications for Teaching."
Salama, Nancy. 1988. "British and American English in the Classroom in Cairo and in Kuwait." TESL Reporter 21(1): 9-18. http://contentdm.lib.byu.edu/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/TESL&CISOPTR=964&REC=9&CISOSHOW=955.
This article discusses the difficulties ESL teachers face due to the two major varieties of English. It's not so context-specific as the title suggests; rather, it gives some general principles to think about. It also contains a list of differences in the languages that came up in the classroom during the author's stint in Egypt and Kuwait.
Smith, Zoe. 2009. "British and American English: How to Teach English You Don't Speak." Matador Abroad, September 30. http://matadornetwork.com/abroad/british-and-american-english-how-to-teach-english-you-dont-speak/.
An article written from a Brit's perspective that provides a few more differences between the languages.